A prominent Rhode Island Democrat was captured on police body camera video asking an officer, “You know who I am,” moments before her arrest during a traffic stop.
Maria Bucci, 51, the chairwoman of the Democratic committee in Cranston, the state’s second largest city, is facing a misdemeanor DUI charge following a Dec. 18 traffic stop in East Greenwich, according to media reports, Fox News reported.
“You know who I am right,” Bucci is heard telling an East Greenwich police officer after he said he smelled alcohol on her breath and described her driving as erratic.
“I don’t know who you are miss,” the officer responds.
“You can start throwing out names and start doing out what you need to do, it’s not going to work with me, I’m telling you right now, I’m not the guy for that,” the officer adds.
Body camera footage shows the officer attempting to guide Bucci through a series of field sobriety tests.
Bucci previously served on the Cranston City Council from 2004 to 2008 and ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Cranston.
She also launched an unsuccessful bid for a Rhode Island House of Representatives seat last year, according to the Cranston Herald.
At one point during the stop, Bucci is heard demanding that others be contacted on her behalf.
“Call my husband right now, and call the attorney general and everybody else in town, cause this is disgusting, God forbid I was a Black person, I’d be arrested,” Bucci says in the video.
The officer later places Bucci under arrest.
As she is handcuffed, Bucci looks toward the body camera and insults the officer.
“You’re a d—,” she says.
“Like I am not drinking, you’re a loser,” she adds.
Earlier in the video, Bucci told the officer she had consumed a glass of wine and had attended a Christmas party.
Bucci was released on a $1,000 personal recognizance and is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 5, according to WPRI.
Democrats have not been strangers to being arrested in 2025, particularly when it comes to interfering with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A notable example occurred in June when New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by Department of Homeland Security agents on allegations of assaulting a federal officer.
Hours later, Lander was released from the federal courthouse, where he was joined by New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D). At a news conference outside the courthouse, Hochul announced that charges against Lander had been dropped.
However, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York stated it is still “continuing to investigate” Lander’s conduct.
“Our heroic ICE law enforcement officers face a 413% increase in assaults against them—it is wrong that politicians seeking higher office undermine law enforcement safety to get a viral moment,” a DHS spokesperson said. “No one is above the law, and if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will face consequences.”
Video footage of Lander’s arrest appears to show him holding onto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as they escorted a defendant from immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, repeatedly questioning whether the officials had a judicial warrant.
“I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant!” Lander said in the video. “Where is it?! Where is the warrant?!”
Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, condemned the arrest, using Democratic Party talking points by calling it an abuse of power and a threat to democracy and asserting that Lander was targeted simply for “asking questions.”
